1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer network and, more particularly, methods of and systems for improving continuity of a user's experience across multiple devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Not too many years ago, an individual might use only one or two computing devices—perhaps one at work and perhaps one at home. Today, individuals use a wide variety of computing devices. For example, it's not at all uncommon for an individual to have one or more computers at work, one or more at home (perhaps a desktop computer and a laptop computer), a smart phone (which includes a pocket-sized, fully functional computer), digital cameras (still and video), and perhaps one or more tablet computers. In addition, many household appliances in use today also incorporate fully functional computers. Such appliances include televisions, set-top boxes, personal video recorders (PVRs), digital media players, and networked music players.
The multitude of devices used by an individual can be thought as the individual's device-sphere. One of the challenges associated with an individual's device-sphere is that the device-sphere is hardly seamless. An individual may which to view a video captured in a video camera on a television. Such typically requires a cabled connection between the two and separate control of each, despite the fact that both are fully capable of communication with one another through a computer network. Similar examples include wanting to watch a movie purchased and downloaded through a computer on the television, wanting to view photos taken with a digital still camera or smart phone's camera on a tablet computer or a work computer to share the photos with guests. Many, many other examples can be imagined in which data on one device in the device-sphere is desired to be accessible from another device in the device-sphere.
What is needed is a way to improve continuity of a user's experience across the multiple devices of the user's device-sphere.